Chapter 127: New Connections
As I learned more, my curiosity about my grandfather only grew, but for now, I set that curiosity aside.
For now, the Jungshin Merchant Group was the priority.
All matters, including the affair of the Defeng Yin Clan and the future and grudges of the Bright Fate Escort Agency, were intertwined with the Jungshin Merchant Group.
And there was less time than expected.
‘According to the information obtained from the Beggars’ Sect, the Hongmu Sect seemed to have intentions of moving.’
Perhaps they were already moving.
It was time for us to move as well.
I headed toward the place where the core figure of the Bright Fate Escort Agency resided, which was also the largest building within the agency.
“It has been a while.”
“No. I heard you have been very busy lately. If you speak like that, it makes me feel embarrassed instead.”
Woo Ji-hye. The mistress and core of the Bright Fate Escort Agency.
Madam Woo treated me with utmost politeness and showed her respect.
I also maintained a respectful attitude toward Madam Woo.
It was true that my influence in the Bright Fate Escort Agency currently surpassed Madam Woo’s, and it was also a fact that the future of the agency rested in my hands, but I did not want to act rudely because of that.
Was it because I had experienced days of being powerless on Mount Wudang?
Perhaps this, too, could be called a trace left behind by that fellow, Yin Si-hoo.
The time had come to harvest at least a part of that connection.
“The Jungshin Merchant Group is going to collapse. As a bonus, the Hongmu Sect seems likely to be crushed as well.”
Cutting straight to the point, I said only what needed to be said.
Madam Woo’s eyes changed.
“Would such grand places collapse so suddenly?”
“With several things overlapping, it has come to this. It is a common occurrence in Martial World for a place with some power to collapse in an instant.”
In hindsight, the Bright Fate Escort Agency was the same.
As if recalling memories of the past, Madam Woo tightly clenched her fists.
“If you have any intention of going to see it, please prepare immediately.”
“Me…?”
“Yes. Since we do not have much time to spare, you will need to answer quickly.”
“Well… I wonder if I might just become a burden and get in the way…”
She looked as if she wanted to accept the proposal I offered right away.
However, she worried whether she would cause trouble because of it.
She was someone whose consideration for others was naturally ingrained in her.
Although it was not a quality suitable for Martial World, it was not bad for someone who supported the inside and acted as a spiritual pillar.
And if it was to make such a person my ally, a little effort was worth enduring.
“It will be fine. There is also someone who needs to pay for his accumulated meals.”
It was good to put the surplus labor to work along the way.
***
I explained the current situation to the others as well. For Beom-gak and Lady Jang So-wol, it was merely a matter of the inevitable arriving, but for Ju So-ran and Myeong Il-seo, who belonged to the Bright Fate Escort Agency, their excitement was so palpable it was as if their backs had been set on fire.
Except for one person.
“An expensive meal indeed.”
Senior Jang Mun-gyeong alone reacted differently.
His flatly uttered words were an outright complaint.
Honestly, I was intimidated.
However, Lady Jang So-wol quietly approached and let me know, allowing me to relax my tension.
“He is joking.”
“…”
Ah, it was a joke.
So that was how Senior Jang Mun-gyeong made jokes.
I see.
‘He would probably use that exact same voice when saying he is going to chop someone’s head off…’
The problem was that it did not sound like that to my ears at all.
‘Well, he is someone who seems to lack social skills, so that kind of joke is understandable.’
Although it did not sound like a joke at all, if it really was one, it meant Senior Jang Mun-gyeong was treating me comfortably in his own way.
Let’s look on the bright side, just the bright side.
As we prepared to depart, Ju So-ran, standing at the front, raised a flag.
As the flag hanging from a pole about ten feet long fluttered in the wind, the characters for “Bright Fate” stood out clearly.
It was a flag from my memory.
“Ah.”
The moment I first witnessed the cruelty of Martial World. It was the flag that had fluttered over the corpses with split bellies.
It was indeed that flag, which had fluttered alone as if wailing among the miserably killed escort warriors of the Bright Fate Escort Agency.
The bloodstains smeared between the characters of Bright Fate proved it.
There could be nothing better suited for the place where the Jungshin Merchant Group and the Hongmu Sect would slaughter each other.
“Let us go.”
Was she recalling the memories of that day? Ju So-ran, who was trying hard to hold back her tears, looked solemn.
Ju So-ran walk ahead bravely, holding the fluttering flag high.
***
The place where the Jungshin Merchant Group was located was next to Huihua County, a place whose scale surpassed a town and reached the size of a city.
Ju So-ran’s forehead, as she stood at the front holding the flag, was drenched in sweat.
Moving while holding a pole with a flag fluttering in the wind was arduous work.
Moreover, Ju So-ran had not let the flagpole touch the ground even once.
Since her sheer spite to carry it herself even if she collapsed from exhaustion was visible, I had no choice but to watch.
However, her limit soon arrived, and as she staggered along with the flag, Myeong Il-seo stepped forward and grabbed the flagpole.
“That is enough.”
“Escort Leader Myeong… Uncle…”
“A flag is merely a symbol. You are the Chief, the center of this escort agency. A Chief is one who oversees, not one who carries the flag. It is your job to make good use of us as your limbs. It is enough for you to be beneath this flag.”
Myeong Il-seo took the flag from Ju So-ran.
“Attend to the Chief.”
“Yes!”
Whether they had been watching with anxious hearts all along, the moment Myeong Il-seo’s order was given, the Five Duck Brothers replied in unison and escorted Ju So-ran.
“…Only now do I fully understand Chief Baek’s words.”
Myeong Il-seo muttered incomprehensible words and looked at me, but it was not something to take to heart.
Only on the second day, having continued our journey with only short rests, did the destination city appear before us.
A few soldiers guarding the entrance of the city stiffened slightly upon seeing the flag of the Bright Fate Escort Agency.
Since the Bright Fate Escort Agency was said to have worked closely with the Jungshin Merchant Group in the past, it was no wonder they recognized it.
“They are not stopping us.”
“Indeed. The information from the Hao Sect seems to be correct.”
In fact, I had worried about being unable to enter the city or being delayed due to inspections.
They said the government intended to pull their hands out of this, and that information appeared to be true.
After this, we could move without any hesitation.
From now on, this was an affair taking place within the domain of Martial World.
And in the laws of Martial World, it was customary to wash away grudges with blood.
It was a common occurrence in Martial World for people to die during duels.
Even if killings occurred inside the city, the authorities would often turn a blind eye as long as no harm was done to civilians.
I felt as if a troublesome burden had been lifted.
Following behind Escort Leader Myeong Il-seo, there was a place where a crowd had gathered.
“There are a lot of people.”
“It seems there are earlier guests.”
It was likely the Hongmu Sect.
Squeezing through the crowd, we saw two forces confronting each other in front of a magnificent manor.
In front of the manor’s main gate, Jong In-geol stood restlessly, and beside him, an unusual old man was radiating an extraordinary aura.
‘Must be the Defeng Yin Clan. In that case…’
The ones on the opposite side must be the Hongmu Sect.
At their front stood a man near the end of his middle age, emitting waves of chilling momentum.
‘That person must be Sect Leader Hong Mun-gang of the Hongmu Sect.’
“At least we are not late.”
The legwork was worth it.
The two confronting sides were exchanging heated words.
In particular, the Hongmu Sect was raising its voice.
From the mouth of Hongmu Sect’s Leader Hong Mun-gang, the ugly aspects of the Jungshin Merchant Group poured out one after another.
“He is surprisingly eloquent.”
Considering what they had done to the Bright Fate Escort Agency, I thought he would be a violent person, but this was unexpected.
The crowd stirred at the scandals of the Jungshin Merchant Group flowing from the Hongmu Sect’s mouth.
Baek Mu-ho snorted.
“If the Defeng Yin Clan had not arrived in time, they would have charged blindly and killed everyone. But now that the Defeng Yin Clan is here, their calculations are different.”
“Even if they lose, they are going to turn the Jungshin Merchant Group into trash.”
“The Hongmu Sect has no way back either.”
Perhaps because we were watching from a step back, it was plain to see what the Hongmu Sect was thinking.
However, our role as onlookers did not last long.
“Jong In-geol, you are also responsible for the matters of the Bright Fate Escort Agency!”
“The matters of the Bright Fate Escort Agency! That was what you bastards did!”
“Yes! We did it! Having fallen for your scheme! We do not deny that we are responsible for their blood! However, it was none other than your Jungshin Merchant Group, Jong In-geol, that led them to their deaths! You cannot deny that either!!”
One of the easiest ways to gain credibility when there was no evidence was to openly admit one’s own faults. Speaking so unreservedly created a psychological bias in others, making them wonder if someone who spoke like that would lie.
“What does the Bright Fate Escort Agency think!”
At Hong Mun-gang’s shout, Jong In-geol finally turned his gaze toward us.
He seemed to have noticed us late, having focused all his attention on the debate with Sect Leader Hong Mun-gang.
As we stood beneath the bloodstained flag and stepped forward, dismay was clearly written on Jong In-geol’s face.
At Jong In-geol’s reaction, the crowd stirred once more.
‘Just like during Lord Seo’s banquet, that old man has a sloppy side at critical moments.’
This was an opportunity. And I was not the only one who recognized it.
“I, Baek Mu-ho, speak as the eldest son of the Baek Family Escort! Sect Leader Hong Mun-gang’s claims are all true! That fellow, Jong In-geol, requested an escort from the Baek Family Escort as well, played tricks in that escort, and there was clear evidence that he induced the Hongmu Sect to attack the Bright Fate Escort Agency knowing it would happen!”
In a moment when everyone’s attention was focused, Baek Mu-ho’s timely words completely shattered the situation.
The reputation of the Baek Family Escort was not small. The moment it was put on the scale, the balance had to tip.
But even so, we had no intention of simply being dragged along by the claims of the Hongmu Sect.
“Keep going.”
“I know, punk.”
At my prompting, Baek Mu-ho snorted and grumbled.
“However, that does not mean we are on the side of the Hongmu Sect! The Hongmu Sect is the enemy of the Bright Fate Escort Agency!”
The side people should take was not the Hongmu Sect.
It was ours!
The one who should lead the situation was also us! The Bright Fate Escort Agency!
“I think it is your turn to drive the wedge home.”
Although Baek Mu-ho had stepped forward at the right time, we needed to make a decisive move to settle it completely.
Senior Jang Mun-gyeong, who had been silent, quietly spoke.
“An expensive meal indeed.”
“Hahaha…”
He was joking again.
…That is a joke, right?
I suddenly felt a chill on my neck, but it had to be my imagination.
Of course, what was revealed next was by no means an illusion.
Whoosh!
“Whoa!”
“What is this!”
A massive aura rose and devoured the surroundings.
The presence of someone whose name was recorded at the very peak of Martial World.
The moment the dignity of the Ten Great Swords of the Realm revealed even a fraction of its presence, the gathered crowd screamed and backed away from us.
The moment our existence was revealed more clearly, the old man who appeared to have come from the Defeng Yin Clan widened his eyes in shock.
“H-How are you here…!”
It was the moment the card held by the Bright Fate Escort Agency was revealed.
A few experts from the Defeng Yin Clan were nowhere near enough. Even if the entire Defeng Yin Clan stepped forward, this monster was an opponent they had no answer for.
The Defeng Yin Clan had no choice but to be shocked.
‘Everything is going according to plan…’
“Let us just say I could not refuse because of the request from the Young Heavenly Dragon.”
…Huh?
Yet, this gentleman was suddenly talking nonsense.
“If it is the Young Heavenly Dragon… is it that top genius of Martial World recently?”
“Was it not just a rumor? He is a real person?”
Perhaps because there were a few martial artists in the surroundings, stories that ordinary civilians wouldn’t know were being exchanged.
Or had my rumors spread even among ordinary people?
No, but why is the conversation suddenly shifting in this direction?
“Is it not your story?”
The moment I felt a smile flash across Senior Jang Mun-gyeong’s lips for a split second.
“Step forward.”
Suddenly, pressure felt on my back pushed my body.
My body, pushed to the point of almost flying forward, suddenly found itself at the very front.
Needless to say, the gazes of everyone around me focused entirely on me.
“Uh…”
…Excuse me?
Is this allowed all of a sudden?
I was about to take all the attention that Senior Jang Mun-gyeong had raised.